Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Recent storms have caused an estimated $200,000 to $400,000 in damage to county roads, according to Public Works Director Mark Storey.
He reported the figure to county commissioners Monday, referring to silt filling ditches, high water washing gravel off of roads, mud and debris plugging pipes and other dispersed damage.
“A little here, a little there, but it adds up,” Storey said. “I suspect we will be doing repairs for years as a result of the last couple weeks of storms.”
Crews have opened all of the roads for now, with repair work to come later.
“The roads will be passable,” said Storey, indicating that further improvements will come. “We ask that the public be patient with us for a few months.”
The full-road repair work is expected to begin in August, after county workers complete other summer projects.
Flood and runoff have damaged roads in Oakesdale, Tekoa, Pullman, Dusty and Colfax since mid-May.
Gravel roads sustaining heavy damage included Fanning, Pittmann and Doneen roads.
County road crews were first called out May 17 for work near Oakesdale after a downpour and flash flood.
One of the volunteer weather recorders for the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) reported a 3.75 reading on the gauge after the downfall hit along Highway 27 northeast of Oakesdale.
A reading at Oakesdale for the same time listed a reading of .93 inches in the two hour-time span of the storm.
That Saturday afternoon the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for northeastern Whitman County, including Rosalia, Tekoa, Oakesdale, Farmington and Belmont.
Colfax was hit with .55 inch of rain May 13 on the NRCS gauge on the south hill.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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